According to the draft environmental impact statement, "the construction and operation of the proposed Brookfield compressor station is not expected to adversely affect the school."

Since the proximity of the school is the best argument Brookfield has against the station, the FERC staff's draft opinion is a major blow.

But it wasn't really a surprise. FERC approved an earlier version of the station at the same spot on High Meadow Road in 2002.

FERC operates under laws approved by Congress and the president. Those laws allow FERC to ignore local opinion in order to move energy projects forward.

Governor Rell has asked FERC to reconsider the draft opinion, insisting the proximity of the school to the proposed compressor station is dangerous.

Of course, it's dangerous. If there was an explosion at the station, the evacuation of the middle school, as well as nearby residences, would be a nightmare.

But Brookfield has been put in this position because the Iroquois and Algonquin natural gas pipelines intersect on the High Meadow site, and because federal law allows FERC to ignore the proximity of Whisconier Middle School.

Make sense? Not at all. Congress and the president should change the law to allow local opinion and local circumstances such as a school to play a major role in the consideration of an energy project.